The present invention relates to an aircraft cabin construction, and particularly to a passenger aircraft construction which efficiently exploits the space within the aircraft such as to enable the cabin to accommodate additional passenger seats.
The operating revenue of a passenger aircraft depends to a large extent on the seating capacity of its cabin. Many proposals have been made in order to maximize the use of floor space in the passenger cabin of the aircraft to increase the seating capacity and thereby to increase operating revenue.
As one example for increasing seating capacity, U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,899 proposes to dispose all or a portion of the galley in the lower cargo deck of a two-deck aircraft. However, such a construction, while possibly increasing passenger seating, decreases cargo space and therefore decreases cargo revenue.
Another proposed arrangement, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,404, discloses a construction wherein an upper deck galley is located in the aft portion of the upper lobe of a three-deck aircraft. However, such an arrangement takes up space which could otherwise be used for passenger seats or as a resting cabin for the crew.
A further construction, proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,317, locates the galley adjacent an aft pressure bulkhead defining a concave recess in the rearward direction, but such an arrangement also requires significant modifications in the construction of the aircraft fuselage; in addition it takes up space which could be used, e.g., toilets.
In a still further arrangement, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,787, a pantry is located on the upper deck of a two-deck aircraft, and the food supply carts are supported on a platform arranged on the lower deck, which platform is lifted by a lifting mechanism to the pantry on the upper deck. Such an arrangement, however, utilizes the lower, deck for storing the food supply carts, and therefore decreases the available cargo capacity.
Other examples of attempts to exploit the upper space of the fuselage are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,066,227 and 4,925,132.